Grade 11 students, from left, Shane Lynch, Adam Aurora, and Ben Tutty, like many of their classmates from St Patrick's High School, wore black on Monday in memory of Brandon Volpi, 18, who was stabbed to death early Saturday outside Les Suites Hotel on Besserer Street following an after prom party altercation.Ottawa Citizen

Students at St. Patrick’s High School, many dressed in all black coming off the heels of what was supposed to be a celebration, returned to classes Monday, barely three days after 18-year-old classmate Brandon Volpi was stabbed to death during a prom after-party.

Sombre students embraced each other outside the high school on Alta Vista Drive on Monday at the lunch hour.

“He was so respectful, like he never messed with anyone, even though he was such a big guy,” said grade 11 student Shane Lynch.

That size led many of his friends to call him their big brother, a gentle giant who swept in when they needed him.

Police were still trying to piece together how a dust-up among several young men in the early hours Saturday after a night of heavy partying led to Volpi’s death. Students have said that, in typical Volpi fashion, Brandon had agreed to walk a frightened friend back to the hotel when the two were attacked by a group of students from another school.

Volpi was stabbed in the chest and neck steps from where his fellow grads were capping off a night they’ll now never forget.

Grieving students at St. Pat’s attended their regular classes Monday, the first day of the final week of classes for the school year. Exams are scheduled to begin next week. Ottawa Catholic School Board spokeswoman Mardi de Kemp said there were no immediate plans to modify that schedule, but individual students might be allowed to defer them.

Psychologists and social workers were on hand Monday to assist students.

“This is a very sad place right now, where the students are coming together to help each other and hopefully get some help from the adults around them who are here to counsel them and help them,” de Kemp said.

The school has set up several memorials to Volpi, where students can sign a memory book, see his picture and say a prayer, de Kemp said. His locker has become a mecca for those who loved him.

The board said a student-organized memorial service would be held by week’s end but that they wouldn’t move forward with any plans without input from Volpi’s parents.

Passersby view a growing memorial outside Les Suites Hotel in memory of St Patrick’s High School student Brandon Volpi, 18, who was stabbed to death early Saturday following an after prom party altercation.Wayne Cuddington /
Ottawa Citizen

A memorial surrounding the Simon de Bolivar statue outside the Les Suites Hotel has been growing since Saturday morning. An empty bottle of whisky was wedged into the dirt surrounding the statue; prayer candles, handwritten messages of love and loss, and an Italian soccer flag all stood in the spot where everyone’s forever-protector spent the last moments of his life.

Staff at Les Suites Hotel issued a statement Monday after remaining silent over the weekend.

“Our thoughts are with the families of those affected by this incident and with the community,” general manager Chris Pierce said in the statement. “We are currently working with the authorities to assist in their investigation and will continue to provide them with our full co-operation and assistance throughout this process. ”

The hotel refused to comment further and would not comment on its policies and practices when booking prom after parties.

Police say that the hotel was the site of parties for multiple schools at the time of the killing.

Several students at St. Pat’s said Monday that there needs to be more security at prom after-parties, even though they are organized by the students themselves.

De Kemp confirmed that the school-sanctioned portion of the graduation event ended at 10:30 p.m., but large-scale organized prom after-parties have long gone hand-in-hand with the traditional sendoff.

Students at St. Pat’s told the Citizen that the parties are often planned by the same students in charge of planning the dance and interested students can pay for both in a combination package. St. Pat’s said Tuesday that no students were collecting any money for the school-sanctioned prom event. The only person responsible for collecting any money for the school-approved prom was a teacher, de Kemp said.

De Kemp also said that supervision was a key part of the school-sponsored event Friday. One-hundred-and-fifty grads attended the prom Friday evening at the National Arts Centre, supervised by 20 staff, and each of those students was required to sign in.

Police continued to investigate the stabbing but said that several witnesses were not co-operating.

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